Well, it's been a rough week in Jays Land, hasn't it? Hope you got all your frustration out in yesterday's misery thread. Feel free to return there if you've still got that dark cloud hanging over your head.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

So it's 2am and there's nothing to post for noon. I'm out of ideas. The Jays have just been swept by the Chi Sox: offence leaving a small village on base, starters staying in just a little too long, bullpen giving up inherited runners.

I'm going to be at the game tonight, an early birthday present from a friend. A friend who didn't get his act together enough to get the ticket to me in advance. (Why it couldn't be emailed to be I have no idea.) I am to meet him at Gate 11 at 6:50 pm (!).

Monday, April 25, 2016

Well, the last couple of days have felt more like it, haven't they? May the bats continue to kick ass.

So they seem to be a little scared of us. Sale has been pushed to tomorrow (something about not wanting us to face three leftys) so it's our old buddy Miguel Gonzalez (formerly of the Shitbirds), called-up from AAA, vs Stroman.

Time to say hello to old friends. Welcome back Melky, Red Bull, and Dinner.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Surkamp vs Hutch. Hadn't heard of Surkamp so I did a bit of research. He's pitched mostly in the minor leagues and is pitching for the A's now in place of the injured Felix Dubront. The A's fans consider him a fringe lefty and are terrified of him facing our lineup. Hopefully he's good hittin'!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Yeah, I'm sick of that song but it is true we're back in the comfy confines of the dome (it might even be open!) with our first chance to play out-of-division teams. This series we'll get to be reunited with some old friends.

In these days of complaining about Angel Hernandez and Cowboy Joe West, I'm reminded of the original ump show, Ron Luciano. The big difference with Luciano was while he obviously enjoyed the spotlight, he actually was a good game caller. I don't remember a lot of complaints about his strike zone (except from Earl Weaver - they were legendary enemies) but people sure didn't like his flamboyant way of calling a game. He was the original bat flip.

I'm a stay at home dad. Part of the daily routine for me and my young daughter is to sit down and set my fantasy line-up for the day. It's a low-pressure pool with some friends and family. We do it every year. I always run it, and I never win.

So we sit down in the early afternoon, just after she's had lunch, and we make our choices. Today, I first head over to the probable starters list for the week. Sensing an opportunity, I decide to run a little experiment.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Or, A Dummies Guide to Losing Your Money and Having Fun Doing It!

Man I loved those Pro-line ads...

It’s been nearly 25 years since the OLG began taking sports bets in Ontario. That’s 25 glorious years of cursing, cheering, bad breaks, getting screwed over last minute, victory dances and ruined tickets. Many of us have made Pro-line a major part of our Blue Jays daily ritual. Case of beer? Check. Ten bucks on the Jays to win, Yankees and Red Sox to win $86.40? Check. Personally I like to play Pro-line for at least 80-100 Jays games a year, and I’ve never heard anyone talk about it on the blogs, so I thought I’d write a post on two of my favourite topics: baseball and gambling!

***I would love to hear some of your stories about huge wins, bad beats, strategies… Please share in the comments!***

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, the Blue Jays have a lot of their core group of players in place for the 2017 season. Aside from R.A. Dickey, Brett Cecil, Jesse Chavez, and Drew Storen, the majority of the team’s arms are under club control. The big loss after this year is in the middle of their line-up, with long time Blue Jays Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion looking to test free agency this summer. This post is not meant to build a case against the club re-signing them, simply listing some options that are slated to hit the market.

In my first series of posts at Jays In The House, I’ll move past the excitement (or disappointment) of the current season and take a look at the upcoming free agent class of 2017, spinning it from a Jays perspective. In part one, I will break down the Blue Jays committed contracts and arbitration-eligible players under contract for 2017, and in the second part I will look ahead to the free agent class of next summer. When analyzing the free agent market I’ll be working under the assumption that the Jays have signed none of their impending free agents as I feel like there will be plenty of articles focusing on these players and their contract situations.

Monday, April 11, 2016

The general consensus is that Manager John Gibbons has gone " full Ned Yost ", by batting Kevin Pillar in the leadoff position. Everybody knows, a manager should never go " full Ned Yost ". Yost, considered by some, the worst manager in baseball, manager of the 2015 World Champion Kansas City Royals,insisted his team won more games with Alcides Escobar batting lead off, he of the .293 OBP. Curious, when Yost had an excellent alternative in Alex Gordon ( .377 OBP). Even KC's fan base thinks Yost has made the wrong decision. By picking Pillar as his lead off batter, has Gibbons gone " full Ned Yost "and ignored common sense?

Isn't it great that the season has begun? In the past week we've seen many old friends join us. It's made me so happy to see so many fun conversations. The game threats have been crazy. Ya'll talk a lot!

So it's almost 2am and I need something to go up by noon (which is about when I wake up) so I took a swing by DRays Bay. I am blatantly ripping off the concept from Joanna, whose trips to SOSH during Sux series are a highlight of her blog. Don't expect this to be as funny.

During games I like to talk a lot about dps (double plays) and good D (defence) partly because it's a lot of fun to play with the double entendres but also because it's an aspect of the game that doesn't get talked about as much as offence and pitching. I find it every bit as sexy as a dinger.